How to Decorate a Church for a Wedding

A major portion of wedding planning is the wedding decoration, and for churches, the careful detailing and selection of appropriate decorations is essential. That does not mean you cannot create a glamorous ambiance for your wedding ceremony. You can use colorful flowers, pearls, lace, beads, crystals and candles to decorate the church. But remember to honor the atmosphere of sanctity and purity of the place even amidst the decorations.

Things to Keep in Mind

While planning a church wedding, you need to consider designs for the aisle, the pews, and the altar. Before you begin planning the decorations, talk to the church administrator and get to know what is allowed and what is not. Some churches don’t permit the use of candles, while some don’t allow you to toss real flower petals (as this might wet and damage the carpet of floor and is also a slipping hazard).

Also, keep in mind the number of seniors and children that will be attending the wedding. Accordingly you can plan out what kind of decorating material you can use. For instance, candles can be dangerous if there are a lot of children. Flowers with too strong a fragrance can pose problems for seniors. Before using candles as a decoration in the church, make sure there are fire extinguishers and other fire-safety equipment at hand.

Let us see now some ideas you can use to decorate the main parts in a church,

The aisle and the pew

a. Go for something simple. Bunch up a couple of contrasting flowers with leaves and hang them from the pews.

b. Try something elaborate. Have stands flanking the aisle with flower bouquets atop them and ribbons flowing to the ground.

c. This idea calls for a little more work. Place bunches of small flowers in tiny buckets as depicted above. Complement them with satin ribbons of the same color family.

d. Refurbish or buy tin boxes to fill with neat and compact flower arrangements. Place these on stands at the sides of the aisle.

e. Organza is one of the most popular fabrics used in any kind of decoration. Make huge bows with this sheer fabric and stick them on the corners of the pews.

f. Baby’s breath, organza and satin ribbons, and another flower of your choice; use these simple and easy-to-find materials to make simple hand-held flower decorations and tie them to the sides of the pews.

g. Try something a little different with your pew decoration. Have more of green and just a single flower, along with a pillar candle, some ribbon and tulle or organza bows in the same color.

h. If you do not wish to use real flowers, you can always go in for pretty artificial ones in silk, paper or even plastic, though they won’t have the classic charm of fresh, fragrant flowers.

The altar

a. Something as simple as a fabric neatly covering the stools and altar flanked by tall flower arrangements can look elegant and sophisticated.

b. Using two different floral arrangements along with tall candelabras on both sides is all you need to maintain the atmosphere of the church and have gorgeous decoration for your wedding.

Beautiful church decorations help create a more celebratory and refreshing atmosphere to make your special day truly memorable. So use any of the ideas mentioned here and you’ll have a gorgeously decorated church for your wedding.